


butter lover

by mochiho (pining)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Welcome to Night Vale Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 09:19:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8661784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pining/pseuds/mochiho
Summary: Kyungsoo’s eyes scan the store. He knows it's empty, but then again, nothing's ever really empty. He plucks a bag of chips from the top shelf and pinches the top, waiting. The lights flicker in the store. His eyebrows furrow and he opens the bag with a pop. Blood starts to ooze out of the walls behind the cash register and Kyungsoo groans. He hates cleaning that up.





	

**Author's Note:**

> based off of the short animated film of the same name.  
> tw: blood

Even inside the small store Kyungsoo can feel the hot desert sun against his skin. His white shirt clings to his back like a second-skin, now translucent with the layer of sweat coating his body. He plucks at the string tied around his middle, almost tight enough to uncomfortable but loose enough to not fall off. His fingers tap against the ceramic counter as he listens to Baekhyun’s voice croon through the small radio to his left, it's been a few weeks since that new scientist showed up in their town claiming that it was _by far_ the most scientifically interesting community in the country and Baekhyun still hadn't stopped talking about him.  
  
Something gurgles and grumbles below the desk and for a moment Kyungsoo thinks it's the small pack of mice that sometimes sleep there and they've finally had enough of the Gatorade and crackers Kyungsoo keeps hidden behind the packages of vegetables and decided it would be better to just eat Kyungsoo himself. Wouldn't that be a way to go. But after some deliberation and checking under the counters for the mice, Kyungsoo realizes that it was his stomach growling.  
  
He sighs and flicks the volume knob on the radio, making it louder. Baekhyun stops for a moment to introduce the weather and Kyungsoo smiles, from the smooth notes and instrumentals he can decipher that it's going to be a good day.  
  
He makes his way through the aisles, checking to see if everything's in order when his stomach growls again. He frowns. Kyungsoo’s eyes scan the store, he knows it's empty, but then again, nothing's ever _really_ empty. He plucks a bag of chips from the top shelf and pinches the top, waiting. The lights flicker in the store. His eyebrows furrow and he opens the bag with a pop. Blood starts to ooze out of the walls behind the cash register and Kyungsoo groans. He hates cleaning that up.  
  
“I'm hungry,” His voice is almost a whine.  
  
The oozing of the blood starts to slow but continues to fall nonetheless. Kyungsoo huffs and stalks over to the counter. He grabs the stapler sitting there and with as much anger as you can have while stapling something, he staples the bag closed and sets it back on the shelf.  
  
“Okay, there. Happy?” The oozing stops but the blood that fell starts to stain the grey walls.  
  
It's not a habit, or at least, he doesn't try to _make_ it one, but most of the time Kyungsoo forgets to bring a lunch, and the stuff he has stocked behind the counter don't do much to fuel him for grueling work of manning the counter of the convenience store at the edge of town, just past the car lot.  
  
The first time the wall had started bleeding Kyungsoo was a little freaked out and he had only been working there a day or so. He called Jongdae in a panic, “What the fuck do I do with a bleeding wall? I've only dealt with green stuff before—this is actual _blood_.” Jongdae had laughed because Jongdae always laughs and because he thought everyone had at least _one_ bleeding wall in their house.  
  
“Well, what did you do to make it bleed in the first place?” He had asked, there was another voice in the background. It might have been Minseok. “I don’t know!” The blood was pooling on the floor now and Kyungsoo screamed quiety, climbing on top of the closest counter. In his hurry the radio that was always sitting beside the register crashed to the floor. Small pieces flew everywhere but Baekhyun’s voice continued to be heard through the busted speaker.  
  
“My wall only bled when I lied to my mum so there has to be something! Walls don't just bleed for nothing Kyungsoo!”  
  
Kyungsoo had hung up the phone and shoved it in his pocket before he could continue. He moved over on the counter to get a better look at the blood, there wasn't even a hole or anything—when something crackled and popped under his shoe. He looked down and said “ooh” as he saw the bag of chips under his foot. Out of option he grabbed the stapler and shoved it back on the shelf he found it on. He looked hopefully over at the bleeding wall and let out a sigh of relief.  
  
After the bleeding stopped he was left with a stained wall and a pool of blood on the floor. What the fuck was he suppose to do with that. He walked over to the cork-board beside the fridges and plucked a card out from behind a flyer looking for interns for Baekhyun’s radio show.  
  
_Blood Cleaning_  
xxx-xxx-xxx  
  
He had pulled his phone out from his pocket and dialed the number. He wasn't entirely sure what address to tell them when they picked up because the road that the store was on didn't even have a name. The number rang for almost a full minute and just as Kyungsoo was about to hang out an ear-splitting scream shot through his phone speaker. He doubled over as it rang through his ears. Kyungsoo landed with a thump on the cool tile and he threw the phone as far away from himself as he could but it still shrieked and screamed nonetheless.  
  
After what felt like hours the screaming finally stopped and Kyungsoo’s body sagged in relief. He wiped the tears from his eyes and the small amount of blood that had started to fall from his nose and ears and pinned the card back onto the wall. The store clear of blood.  
  
Now, months after that incident, he can't help but hate himself. He should have just starved and died like that. He doesn't want to have to go through that again. His fingers tremble as he pulls out his phone but the door opens behind him, the small bell jingling.  
  
He shoves the phone into his sweater pocket and goes back behind the counter ignoring the squelch of blood beneath his feet. The mans hands land on the counter with a thump and his head is thrown down between them.  
  
“What can I get you?” Kyungsoo asks warily, the man exhales deeply and Kyungsoo can guess he probably ran from something. Maybe he just left his car in the car lot.  
  
"C—phew, okay, can I get a stick of butter?” The man asks, his voice shaking. He takes a few more breaths and then stands up straight, his cheeks puffed out.  
  
Kyungsoo’s eyes widen a bit before he schools his expression back to his normal blank-faced one. The man’s hair is a light silver and his bangs are down, sticking to his forehead with sweat, just like Kyungsoo’s own. He holds out a few bills and Kyungsoo has to pry them out of his hands, he notices the tips man's large ears burn a dark pink as Kyungsoo’s fingers wrap around his own.  
  
“Can you let go?” Kyungsoo asks after a few seconds. The man blinks like he’s being pulled out of a trance and his hands falls open.  
  
“Ah, sorry.” His cheeks are pink now too.  
  
Kyungsoo hands him the stick of butter and the silver-haired man grabs it, salutes Kyungsoo with his free hand, and runs out of the store. He shakes his head at the now empty door and punches the cash-register open. There's blood stuck between the buttons and some had slipped into cash drawer, staining the bills red. Kyungsoo sighs and just shoves the money into a random slot.  
  
The store goes quiet after the cash register shuts with a ding, Baekhyun’s voice barely above a whisper. He mentions something about Arby's and the lights that sometimes appear there and Kyungsoo almost goes to shut it off. Fuck Arby’s. Kyungsoo’s store has lights above it sometimes too.

The door slams open again and the bell rings violently, Kyungsoo’s head snaps up. The silver-haired man runs up to counter and slams a fistful of money against the counter. His hand is shaking, and upon further inspection the rest of his body is too. The man is smiling at him and it's so infectious that Kyungsoo finds himself almost smiling back. From here Kyungsoo notices that there's patches sewn into the jean jacket he’s wearing, the one that catches his eye though is the one that reads: CHANYEOL, it's sewn into the fabric above his heart like a name-tag so Kyungsoo reads it as such.  
  
Chanyeol runs a hand through his hair and a bead of sweat falls from the soaked strands. Kyungsoo follows its trail from his temple, down the curve of his cheekbone until is disappears behind the collar of his shirt.  
  
“What can I help you with again?” Kyungsoo asks him and almost dies of embarrassment when his voice barely comes out above a whisper.  
  
Chanyeol’s grin widens and he points the small refrigerated area where the butter sticks are kept.  
  
“Like, 3 more sticks of butter!”  
  
Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow at him and places the sticks down on counter. “Doing some baking?” He asks as he types the transaction into the cash register. Chanyeol shakes his head, hair bouncing.  
  
“No, no, something way cooler.” He winks at Kyungsoo before running back out of the store.  
  
From the counter, he could see Chanyeol outside. He was running out into the desert across from the store. He could barely see him at the edge of the store’s parking lot’s radius of light but his arms were swinging widely and his legs were flailing. Great puffs of sand kicked up behind him and sweat was visibly running down the back of his neck. Kyungsoo heard a squeak from behind him and looked back to see the mice that usually hide under the counter sitting in the pool of wall-blood. When he looked back up, Chanyeol was gone.  
  
The community radio show was over from what Kyungsoo could tell. Loud, irritating static played from the speakers instead of the usual calming static. Kyungsoo wished time worked here. He never knew when he should close the store, sometimes it's a gut feeling, other times a loud siren wails out in the parking lot. It’s a guessing game. There’s no siren right now but Kyungsoo feels like it's probably going to be night soon and most stores close before then. No one wants to be out and about when it's dark out.  
  
Kyungsoo stares down at the blood and sighs. If he doesn’t clean it up soon it’ll just be sitting there for days. That can be a problem for future-him though.  
  
On a blank sheet of paper Kyungsoo starts to tally how many minutes have gone by. He gets to three tallies before he feels a sudden pang above his kidney, his vision blurs for a moment and all he sees is blobs of light against dark. He blinks and it’s gone. What was he doing again? He stares down at the blank piece of paper on the counter and draws a giraffe. Or at least, what he thinks a giraffe would look like. He’s never seen one before.

After drawing the animal’s fifth eye and second tail he hears Chanyeol again. The door is thrown open and Chanyeol stands a mere 5 feet from him, his grin wild and hair untamed. He’s still shaking.  
  
“Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol exclaims, he’s not sure how he knows his name. Maybe the name-tag gave it away. “You need to, I need — fuck, like.. a whole wheelbarrow full of butter!” He’s still shaking and Kyungsoo’s not sure if it's from excitement or extrusion.  
  
“You’re really freaking me out right now man.” Kyungsoo says.  
  
“Come on, come on, come on!” His hands make the grabby motion towards the butter and Kyungsoo has to literally climb on top of the counter to keep Chanyeol from grabbing them himself.  
  
“What are you doing with all this butter?!” Kyungsoo almost screams and Chanyeol smiles even wider.  
  
“Do you want to see?” He asks in return, his hands are resting on Kyungsoo’s shoulders and even through the fabric of his shirt Kyungsoo can feel the warmth of his palms. He’s already sweating from the heat outside but Kyungsoo doesn’t push him away, he just lays there, half-sprawled over the counter top staring at Chanyeol, thinking.  
  
Going with him could be a bad idea, he doesn’t even know him, but Jongdae always says he’s too boring. always doing the same things: eat, work, sleep. Kyungsoo never found it in himself to be adventurous, their town was dangerous and curiosity would always lead to someone's death. But Kyungsoo’s died before, several times in fact, so maybe this time wouldn’t be so bad. Not if it was by Chanyeol’s hand. He’s rather cute. In a weird sort of way. “Sure, why not?”  
  
Chanyeol beams and Kyungsoo gives him a small smile in return. He pulls Kyungsoo over the counter and wraps his hand around Kyungsoo’s wrist. Kyungsoo feels his cheeks heat up at the contact but he doesn’t say anything, just allows Chanyeol to lead him out of the store.  
  
As soon as Kyungsoo steps out of the small store he immediately wants to return. The sun is hot against his skin, burning it. The walk through the desert sand is hard, his feet keep sticking and his calves begin to ache almost right away but Chanyeol keeps walking. His hand slips out of Chanyeol’s grasp a few times, the sweat from both their skin causing him to loose grip but Chanyeol just wipes his hand down the front of his shorts and grabs it again. Kyungsoo feels the familiar sting when he tries to count the seconds but he stops before he blacks out.  
  
“Aha!” Chanyeol exclaims, the butter is still in his other hand and Kyungsoo tries not to wonder how it didn’t melt. “Here we are!”  
  
Kyungsoo looks around and finds nothing. Nothing but desert sand a few rocks. He looks over at Chanyeol and curls his hand into a fist, ready to punch him in the gut. Chanyeol’s eyes flicker towards the motion and he backs up a few feet. “Look Kyungsoo!” He points to the ground.  
  
There’s a hole.  
  
“There’s a hole.” Kyungsoo deadpans and Chanyeol nods his head. He motions for Kyungsoo to come closer and points to the hole. “Watch.” He tells him.  
  
Chanyeol unwraps the sticks of butter and drops them one by one into the small hole in the ground. Kyungsoo watches them disappear into the darkness. Nothing happens. Kyungsoo goes to tell Chanyeol his observation when there’s a large chomping noise and what sounds like something licking their lips.  
  
“What the— Holy fuck— Chanyeol what—-” Kyungsoo stares at the hole, his eyes wide. “What the fresh titty is in that fucking hole?”  
  
Chanyeol laughs, loud and deep, and Kyungsoo wishes he would have saved it for another time because he can’t fully appreciate how beautiful he looks when there’s a hole in the ground making slobbering noises two feet in front of them. Chanyeol wraps an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder and pulls him closer.  
  
“I don’t know man, but it fucking loves butter.”  
  
Where they live, a hole in the middle of the desert that enjoys the taste of butter shouldn’t really be that exciting but Chanyeol is still shaking slightly from the excitement of finding it and Kyungsoo would rather go to the library then tell him that. He’s crouched down next to the hole now, throwing small rocks down into the abyss, laughing whenever the creature down there spits them back at them. Kyungsoo looks at him with a smile on his face, laughing when Chanyeol falls over from a rather large rock gets thrown back and lands on his chest. He walks over to Chanyeol and holds out his hand to help him up, Chanyeol grins up at him and instead of getting up, he uses the leverage he has on Kyungsoo’s hand and pulls him down onto the sand dune with him.  
  
Kyungsoo groans and frowns at the sand sticking to his skin. He tries his best to wipe it off but it ends up just sticking to his hands instead.  
  
“Do you wanna go get pizza with me Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol asks, his eyes are on the setting sun in the distant instead of on Kyungsoo himself. Kyungsoo doesn’t say anything, just nods and hopes Chanyeol can feel the movement against his arm.

**Author's Note:**

> park chanyeol is straight and bright eyes are being written right now so don't worry! they'll be updated soon.


End file.
